Chapter 171: Chapter 168: Sunrise in the East, Brilliant Is the Light
The boundless starlight receded in a flash. Pulled along by Song Ciwan’s long tether, the Lu Family Brothers were like two human-shaped kites, bobbing at a low altitude in the whipping wind.
The wind filled their lungs.
Along with it came the thrilling danger and profound relief of having survived a catastrophe.
Compared to the many Cultivators who had lost their lives in that field of starlight, the Lu Family Brothers were undoubtedly lucky.
Though their current situation was indescribably ridiculous and wretched, at least they were alive!
Lu Hui exclaimed, "Brother, who knew Bright Moon Square was hiding so many people from the Otherworld? All those guys were tucked away so tightly before. I thought they never came to Bright Moon Square, heh..."
As he was speaking, Lu Yuan, who was beside him, suddenly cried out in shock, "That’s not right! Those two Scholars—they’re clearly people from this world!"
The terrifying destructive power of the boundless starlight was clearly only effective against people from the Otherworld. Logically, nothing in this world—neither living creatures nor buildings—should have been affected...
So what was the deal with those two Scholars?
Lu Hui struggled to turn his head. Amidst the WHOOSH of the wind, he shouted, "It’s the cat! It has to be the cat!"
Lu Yuan heard his voice, and so did Song Ciwan up ahead.
But the starlight was still spreading, so Song Ciwan didn’t look back for a second. She simply pushed her Body Technique to its limit and continued to race forward.
Behind them, the two Scholars Lu Hui had mentioned were completely oblivious. They had no idea that up ahead, in a world they couldn’t perceive, someone was pointing them out, analyzing their every detail.
As the saying goes: Who doesn’t talk about others? And who isn’t talked about by others?
That’s simply the way of the world; it wasn’t particularly strange.
Song Ciwan was moving too quickly. Soon, she and the two brothers were forced to leave the two Scholars far behind.
After another moment, the figures of the Scholars and the cat disappeared from their sight, and the pursuing starlight also seemed to be growing thinner.
A moment later, Bright Moon Square was also completely out of sight.
Ahead of them was what appeared to be a wide main street, a grand avenue stretching into the distance. Farther still, the silhouette of Wangjiang Mountain stood tall and imposing. Its crisp, steep outline was as dreamlike as an ink wash painting.
The Lu brothers had been ’flown’ the entire way, and they felt as if the rushing, cool wind had distorted their very features. Then, in an instant, the tether pulling them was yanked away, and the Lu Family Brothers dropped straight to the ground with a THUD.
Lu Hui cried out, "Oof!" and mumbled dazedly, "Hey, what? What’s going on? Are we there?"
Lu Yuan was also dazed. He said, "Arrived where? Brother Hui, where were we headed?"
Where were they headed?
The Lu Family Brothers looked at each other, and only then did they confusedly realize that being ’flown like kites’ had turned their brains to mush.
They were fleeing for their lives, not just hitching a ride.
When you’re fleeing for your life, there is no destination. You run as far as you can, and survival is the only victory.
So, where on earth were they now?
The muddle-headed brothers looked up together and gazed around.
Lu Yuan shouted, "Brother Hui, look!"
Lu Hui looked up in the direction his brother was pointing and suddenly saw a spot of light on the eastern horizon, tearing through the deep darkness of the night.
A fiery golden sun, bursting with blazing intensity, suddenly leaped out from the breach in the darkness!
Lu Hui gasped, then said in joyful surprise, "The sun is rising!"
The sun rose in the east, magnificent and brilliant.
Having escaped the deep night and the terrifying starlight, the two brothers, for reasons they couldn’t explain, suddenly felt their noses prickle. The seas of their hearts churned, and a boundless tide of emotion surged through their chests.
Lu Yuan shouted, "It is! The sun is rising!"
Lu Hui said, "The sun is up! We survived!"
The two brothers threw their arms around each other and burst out laughing.
As they laughed, tears began to well up in the corners of their eyes.
A man doesn’t cry easily, but only because his heart hasn’t been broken.
When emotions truly peaked, even men would cry.
The Lu Family Brothers laughed and cried, and dense clouds of intense emotion gushed forth from them, only to be collected by the Heaven and Earth Scale up ahead.
[Human Desires: The surprise, panic, and lingering fear of a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator. Five jin and six taels. Tradable.]
[Human Desires: The joy, bewilderment, and lingering fear of a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator. Five jin and six taels. Tradable.]
Qi Over Five Jin!
It was Qi Over Five Jin, and from Qi Refining Stage Cultivators no less!
And that wasn’t all. The intensity of the brothers’ emotions was simply irrepressible.
Lu Hui said, "I never imagined that the Black Heart Demon Saber, a man condemned by all, would actually be kind enough to save us."
Lu Yuan said, "I know, it’s completely unexpected. Brother Hui, I was already prepared for a quick death. I truly never thought the Black Heart Demon Saber would actually save us after hearing our pleas. Huh... wait a minute, where is the Black Heart Demon Saber?"
The brothers looked up, only to see the street ahead was pristine and empty. The Black-clothed Blade Master who had saved them with the tether had vanished without a trace.
Truly, he came like a shadow and left without a trace.
The Lu Family Brothers were dazed once more. Lu Hui said, "The Black Heart Dem— ah, that’s not right! Daoist Hei, he’s gone already?"
Lu Yuan said, "We didn’t even get to thank him!"
Lu Hui stared blankly. "Countless masters of the righteous path do good deeds, but they also seek fame. Yet this Daoist Hei... he is the very definition of detached elegance. He champions the just and leaves no trace. How is that in any way the work of the Demon Dao? This is clearly... wait! Ah Yuan, has Daoist Hei actually done anything evil? Why is he branded as part of the Demon Dao?"
Lu Yuan said, "He killed people."
Lu Hui asked, "Then why did he kill them?"
Lu Yuan replied, "Because he acquired the Lankao Spring and Autumn Map. Many people wanted to snatch the Treasure Map from him, so they ambushed him to try and kill him!"
Lu Hui sneered. "So, people tried to ambush and kill him, and he simply killed them in self-defense. And for that, those bastards gave him the moniker ’Black Heart Demon Saber’? Hah. Who are the real demons here?"
Lu Yuan was silent.
He said nothing. After a moment, he made a hushing gesture at Lu Hui.
The brothers’ emotions were running high. A short distance away, Song Ciwan walked around an unnoticed street corner as the Heaven and Earth Scale materialized beside her.
[Human Desires: The gratitude, confusion, and melancholy of a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator. Three jin and six taels. Tradable.]
[Human Desires: The gratitude, confusion, and anger of a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator. Three jin and eight taels. Tradable.]
Two more dense clouds of Human Desires were collected by the Heaven and Earth Scale. Song Ciwan looked up at the sunrise ahead and smiled faintly.
She had used the Qimen Taoist Skill, A Grain of Sand in the Sea, and had deliberately stayed out of the Lu Family Brothers’ sight. That was why they hadn’t realized that Song Ciwan was not far from them at all.
Up ahead, the side door of a house suddenly opened. From within, a woman’s clear, bright voice cheered, "Miss, the sun is up! Quick, we have to get up! The madam said we need to set off another round of firecrackers for the sunrise this morning!"
